Red Hat Knowledgebase

Release Found: Red Hat Enterprise Linux

Problem:
You need to install Red Hat Enterprise Linux on a system. You would like to perform the installation via the network. Additionally, you do not want to (or cannot) use boot media such as floppies or CDs to boot the system.

Solution:
This article assumes that you already have a basic understanding of the relevant networking technologies involved. It also assumes that you are using Red Hat Enterprise Linux on the x86, Itanium™, AMD64, or Intel® Extended Memory 64 Technology (Intel® EM64T) AND the system you are installing to supports PXE booting.

The current documentation explains in detail, the steps involved in performing a PXE based install of Red Hat Enterprise Linux.

For a PXE network installation, the client's NIC with PXE support sends out a broadcast request for DHCP information. The DHCP server provides the client with an IP address, other network information such as name server, the IP address or hostname of the tftp server (which provides the files necessary to start the installation program), and the location of the files on the tftp server. This is possible because of PXELINUX, which is part of the syslinux package.

The following steps must be performed to prepare for a PXE installation:

1. Transfer the data from the installation media into a directory on a server.
   
   
2. Configure the network (NFS, FTP, HTTP) server to export the installation tree containing the files transfered above.
   
   
3. Configure the files on the tftp server necessary for PXE booting.
   
   
4. Configure which hosts are allowed to boot from the PXE configuration.
   
   
5. Start the tftp service.
   
   
6. Configure DHCP.
   
   

Additional information on each of these services can be found under the appropriate sections of the Red Hat Enterprise Linux documentation.